An FCT High Court in Abuja has nullified the congresses of the Kano State All Progressives Congress (APC) conducted by the faction loyal to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
The recently concluded congresses had polarised the party in the state.
The battle is between the governor’s camp and the members of the G-7, comprising Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, Senator Barau I. Jibrin and five others.
Justice Hamza Muazu upheld the congresses conducted by the faction believed to be loyal to Shekarau numbering about 17, 908 members.
The judge dismissed the preliminary objections by lawyers to the defendants, Barr. Sule Usman (SAN), M. N. Duru and Mashood Alabelewe, and ruled that the congress which returned the 17,908 members was valid having followed the party’s rules.
The suit was filed on behalf of the 17,908 members by Mutteka Bala Suleiman and 39 others through their lawyer, Nureini Jimoh (SAN), against the caretaker committee led by Mai Mala Buni.
In granting the five reliefs sought by Bala Suleiman, the judge further declared as illegal the non-recognition of the “duly elected, validly, properly authentically and democratically elected persons” as the 27 elected ward executive committee members for each of the 484 wards in Kano State; five elected ward delegates to each of the 44 LGAs; and five elected ward delegates per ward area for the state party congress.
The judge further made an order of perpetual injunction “restraining the defendant from receiving, accepting and or acting or purporting to act on or approving any other list or purported list of ward executive committee members emanating from any other committee other than the duly constituted Ward Congress Committee (WCC) of the 1st Defendant (APC).”
We will appeal judgment – Kano gov’t
Reacting to the court ruling the state Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Barrister Musa Abdullahi Lawan, said the judgment is being studied and an appeal will definitely be filed against it.
He said the state has filed a notice of preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court, insisting that these are matters that took place in Kano and therefore the case ought to have been filed in Kano’
“Our lawyers are there studying the case and definitely we are going on appeal. Even if you stop at the case of jurisdiction that is enough without even talking about the merit of the matter, but we must definitely go on appeal.
“We are going to challenge this, and we are going to file all the relevant documents and, you know, once you do that, once you file all the notice of appeal, motion of stay, the appeal has to take place first. Therefore, be rest assured that we are working on that,” he said.
By John Chuks Azu (Abuja), Ibrahim Musa Giginyu & Usman Bello Balarabe (Kano)
